Kyle Lowry’s triple-double boosts the Heat

Kyle Lowry had an awkward fall and hurt his ankle in the Miami Heat’s previous game against the Boston Celtics, and was initially questionable for today’s game against the Jazz. He didn’t seem to want to take a break, though, and instead came up with his biggest performance so far this season. He played for 36 minutes and finished with a triple-double of 20 points, 12 rebounds, 10 assists and a steal with a single turnover while shooting 8 of 11 from the field.

This provided more than enough backup for Jimmy Butler, who had a similarly efficient night with 27 points, 3 rebounds and 6 assists while shooting 11 of 15 from the field. Tyler Herro was once again a flamethrower from the bench, hitting 11 of 18 (6 of 8 threes) from the field on the way to 29 points, 2 rebounds and 3 assists. Herro outdueled Jordan Clarkson, who finished with 7 points.

That combined effort proved just enough to keep the Utah Jazz at bay, spoiling a big night from Donovan Mitchell, who had 37 points, 7 assists and 2 steals on 14 of 28 shooting. Mitchell had a tough night from deep, though, making only 4 of 15 of his threes.

Rudy Gobert was outperformed by Bam Adebayo, as Gobert was held to single-digit rebounds for the first time this season with 8 points and 8 rebounds. Adebayo finished with 17 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists while shooting 7 of 12 from the field.

Luka hits another game winner

Luka Doncic has made a habit of making game-winners throughout his young career, and his latest one came against the Boston Celtics, who made a furious second half and took the lead with 2:12 left in the game thanks to a Marcus Smart three-pointer. Kristaps Porzingis tied the game with 1:39 left, and both teams couldn’t make a bucket for the rest of the game until Doncic hit his three with time running out. Doncic finished with 33 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists while shooting 12 of 21 from the field and 5 of 10 from beyond the arc.

The Suns put together their fourth-straight win

Devin Booker and the Phoenix Suns faced a stiff challenge from Trae Young and the Atlanta Hawks, as they put on a wildly entertaining second half that saw the Hawks put up a 40-27 third quarter and received an answer from the Suns in the form of a 39-15 fourth quarter.

Booker led the Suns with 38 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals and a block while Chris Paul continued with his point god ways and had 16 points, 6 rebounds and 13 assists with only two turnovers.

It spoiled a big night from Trae Young, who had 31 points and 13 assists. John Collins also had 26 points and 10 rebounds in the loss. After a dismal 1-3 start, the Suns have roared back to a 5-3 record and moved up to fourth in the Western Conference.

The Lakers drop their second game in a row as Anthony Davis exits early

Damian Lillard’s been struggling with his shot all season, but had a good confidence booster against the Lakers, as he shot a bit better with 9 of 19 made from the field and 6 of 14 made from deep to finish with 25 points, 3 rebounds and 6 assists. This paired perfectly with a bully ball night from Jusuf Nurkic, who finished with 15 points, 17 rebounds, 3 steals and a block. 

The Lakers never led in the game, and only tied it once at 6-6 at the 10:29 mark of the first quarter, which saw them down 36-14 at its conclusion. The Blazers, on the other hand, led by as much as 34 points in the game.

LeBron James was unavailable, while Anthony Davis played a grand total of 7 minutes before leaving due to a stomach illness. That left Russell Westbrook as the sole member of the big three to play significant minutes, and he finished with 8 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals and 6 turnovers while shooting an awful 1 of 13 from the field. Five players from the Lakers bench scored in double figures, and none of their starters hit that mark.

The Lakers, who are the league’s oldest team, are going to be worried about the injury problems that James and Davis are already facing. On top of his stomach illness, Davis was also dealing with a sprained thumb suffered in their previous game.